Dorfner modernizes calcining line for DORKAFILL® products at its production facility in Hirschau.

Dorfner, a leading refiner of industrial minerals, has completed another major investment project. An older-generation calcining line at the site where the company refines kaolin to produce high-grade fillers for the paint and plastics industry and the speciality paper market has been refurbished and upgraded from the ground up. The start of the project was scheduled to coincide with the onset of cold weather. Experience shows that demand for fillers used in architectural paint tends to drop off at that time of year. No production bottlenecks occurred at any time during the refurbishment project because Dorfner’s second calcining line, which went into operation 4 years ago, continued to operate at full capacity in 3-shift operation 7 days a week.
“Despite the extent of the work carried out, we were able to guarantee security of supply to our customers at all times,” reported Dorfner Project Engineer Christian Meindl who was in charge of the complete overhaul. “We spent an entire year on the planning phase. We looked at everything in minute detail, and in the end it was well worth the effort. The execution phase ran with military precision. We did not encounter any problems and the whole thing was over in a record time of 8 weeks. It was an amazing logistical feat when you consider that a new rotary kiln shell more than 33 meters long and weighing around 60 MT had to be installed on the existing line. Despite the inclement weather conditions including snow and high winds, the XXL-size kiln shell was delivered by large truck under police escort and was installed as the core piece of equipment on the line. We also installed a new burner unit which is more energy efficient. The rotary kiln shell was lined with refractory bricks. Trials and production at full load got underway in January.
“Our DORKAFILL® paint fillers deliver excellent value and this million euro investment is the continuation of an impressive success story,” reported Dorfner CEO Erich Oetzel. “In terms of size, throughput, capacity and quality, Dorfner is one of Europe’s leading kaolin refiners. We are having remarkable success with our functional fillers in the paint and plastics industry and the speciality paper market. Our two independent, cutting-edge calcining lines and the recent capacity expansion guarantee unparalleled security of supply to our customers.”